Cruz: I Promised Texans I Would 'Shake Up The Status Quo'

Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) has opened up about his combative debut in the U.S. Senate, telling the New York Times in an article published Friday that he is satisfied with his work so far.

“I made promises to the people of Texas that I would come to Washington to shake up the status quo,” he said in an email to the Times. “That is what I intend to do, and it is what I have done in every way possible in the responsibilities that have been granted to me.”

The article focused on Cruz's aggressive questioning of defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel and his speculation that the former senator may have accepted money from foreign governments. At a Senate Armed Services committee meeting on Hagel's nomination on Tuesday, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) said Cruz was "over the line" in his questioning of Hagel. Nelson also lamented the lack of comity that has been a hallmark of the Senate committee over the years.

“Comity does not mean avoiding the truth,” Cruz told the Times. “And it would be wrong to avoid speaking the truth about someone’s record and past policy positions, even if doing so inevitably subjects me to personal criticism from Democrats and the media.”